Amarilloan killed in military helicopter crash

JACOB MAYER

Friday

Feb 24, 2012 at 5:41 PM

Marine Capt. Nathan W. Anderson was remembered Friday as a quiet leader whose work ethic made him a good fit for the military, even though his decision to serve surprised his football coaches at Amarillo High School.

“He was such an outstanding student we were all thinking he’d be an accountant, a doctor and all that,” said Jim Langdon, Amarillo High’s track coach. “When he informed us he was going in the Marine Corps, it was kind of a shock, but his personality fit that.”

Anderson, 32, was one of seven Marines killed Wednesday when two military helicopters collided during a nighttime training exercise at the Yuma Training Range Complex near the Arizona-California border. It was one of the Corps’ deadliest aviation training accidents in years.

Anderson was from the Marine Corps Air Station Yuma in Arizona and the others were from Camp Pendleton in Southern California, the West Coast’s largest base.

It could take weeks to determine what caused the AH-1W Cobra and UH-1 Huey to crash.

Anderson graduated from Amarillo High School in 1998 and was a starting linebacker on the 1997 team that made the state quarterfinals. He wasn’t a projected starter, but hard work helped transform him into a team leader by his senior year, said Larry Dippel, who was Amarillo High’s head football coach during Anderson’s playing days.

“He got the most out of his ability,” Dippel said. “He was dedicated to being as good as he could be and dedicated to being a good team member.”

The Marines were conducting routine training operations about 8 p.m. in a remote area of the Yuma complex, the Marine Corps said in a statement. Both helicopters belonged to the 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing.

“For him to lose his life basically doing what he loves, that’s hard to take,” Langdon said.

The 1.2-million-acre Yuma complex covers airspace and lands in southwestern Arizona and southeastern California, including the Chocolate Mountain Aerial Bombing and Gunnery Range in California.

The helicopters crashed in the Chocolate Mountains, a sprawling desert range favored by the U.S. military because its craggy mountains and hot, dusty conditions are similar to Afghanistan’s harsh environment.

Two of those killed were aboard the Cobra, the Marines’ main attack helicopter, and the five others were on the Huey, a new version of the utility helicopter first used during the Vietnam War.

A number of other helicopters were involved in the training exercise, which was meant to prepare crew members for missions over the hot, dusty deserts and jagged mountains of Afghanistan.

Such training accidents are relatively rare. In July, a UH-1Y Huey crashed at Camp Pendleton, killing one Marine and injuring five others. At the time, Marine officials said the crash was thought to be the first one involving the UH-1Y since it joined the Marine Corps inventory in 2008.

It was the fifth aviation accident since March involving the 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing headquartered at Miramar Marine Corps Air Station in San Diego. Throughout the Navy and Marine Corps, there have only been two other aviation training accidents in the past five years involving seven or more deaths, according to the military’s Naval Safety Center.

All the Marines were part of the 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing. With 17,500 Marines and sailors, including personnel stationed at Camp Pendleton and Yuma, the unit conducts hundreds of aviation training exercises a year so troops can get as much experience as possible before they go to war.

“Every single one of these Marines impacted our squadron in their own special way, and the entire Marine Corps aviation community is feeling their tragic loss,” said Lt. Col. Stephen Lightfoot, commanding officer of the Marine Light Attack Helicopter Squadron 469.

“I ask that you pray for the families and friends of the warriors we have lost.”

Anderson was assigned to Marine Aviation Weapons and Tactics Squadron One at Marine Corps Air Station Yuma.

Anderson was commissioned in the Marine Corps on Dec. 20, 2002, and served as a UH-1Y Huey pilot.

Anderson served three deployments in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom in 2007, 2008 and 2009.

His personal awards include the Air Individual Action, Air Strike/Flight, Navy and Marine Corps Commendation, National Defense Service, Iraq Campaign, Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary and Global War on Terrorism Service medals.

Langdon described Anderson as one whose hard work and character set an example for teammates and other students.

“He’s basically what you’d like them all to be,” Langdon said. “He was a very special young man. We’re going to miss him.”